A property is decidedly vacant if it has been unoccupied for six months or more. And they’re usually not what we want to look at every day as neighbors.
Overgrown yards, piled up mail, and general disrepair and unsightliness are all common visions most of us have when we think about them. Vacant property problems prevail across the country, especially in older, industrial parts of the Midwest and Northeast. Increasingly, more areas in the West are seeing the consequences of unoccupied homes and how massive a burden they are to homeowners and municipalities.
How Vacant Homes Affect Homeowners…
There are many reasons a home becomes vacant. The owner passes, divorce, loss of job, medical conditions that lead to financial struggles, and many other circumstances force people to leave their properties behind. Tenants may move out and nobody takes their place.
An empty or unwanted house is expensive and challenging to sell once its left behind. In Phoenix, vacant home owners must bear the expenses of an empty home including (but not limited to) taxes, insurance, mortgage payments, and various maintenance costs – as their name is on the deed. All that money for a home that nobody really calls their own! There’s little wonder that, oftentimes, the owner just looks the other way until forced to act, especially if they live out of state. Out of sight, out of mind. And tracking these owners down can be tedious.
And Neighborhoods…
In many cases, vacant homes sit for years or wind up in foreclosure becoming a burden to mortgage companies that become responsible for the title. Then that burden gets passed on to local municipalities and taxpayers who collectively foot the bill for vacant and abandoned properties. These homes have a major impact on the community: a single vacant home costs a community an average of $150,000 annually, a good portion of which is in lost property tax revenue which funds schools in Arizona.
Vacant homes are usually eyesores which affect neighbors’ property values. After all, who wants to work or live next to the unkempt, overgrown place on the block? One ugly home brings down the appeal of surrounding homes and businesses in the neighborhood. Vacant properties are also hubs of crime, further degrading the quality of life for residents and their communities and increasing policing costs while decreasing safety.
Selling a Vacant Home in Phoenix
If you own an unoccupied home but no longer live in Arizona, it may be time to weigh your options for selling. If you know of vacant homes, there are resources you can leverage to get them cleaned up FOR you that don’t cost you a cent.
Conventional home sales may involve hiring and paying a realtor to facilitate the listing and marketing process. Selling to traditional buyers is certainly an option if your vacant property is in very good condition. That makes the preparing, staging and showing a lot easier and your chances of attracting interest higher. The Phoenix market is hot for sellers but this doesn’t guarantee a windfall return on investment or an appraisal at the price a buyer is willing to pay. Agent fees, commissions, inspection costs, repairs and other selling expenses add up quickly. Keep in mind too that it can take months or a year to sell your home the typical way, vacant or not.
Selling a vacant home FSBO (For Sale By Owner) is another option but the odds of success are limited. Experienced home sellers may have luck because they understand the local market and buyers’ expectations, contracts, escrow and other processes. Some believe selling FSBO is all about saving money on selling costs. The reality is: most likely, this will be an uphill battle.
Working with professional home-buying investors to sell your vacant home is a reliable alternative to selling the traditional way. Calling them about vacant properties you don’t own is also a very good way to leverage someone else’s money, expertise and owner locating resources to get blighted houses in your neighborhood cleaned up. Cash buyers offer terms and benefits that others do not and typically are able to start addressing your problem neighbors very quickly
Vacant homes are susceptible to infestation, leaks, mold and other states of neglect. Out-of-state homeowners may be unwilling or unable to make the repairs and preparations necessary for a home sale. Or, their goal is none other than to sell quickly and relieve themselves from future responsibility for the home. Cash buyers buy homes in any condition and the quick sale may be the best solution for avoiding the hassles of the conventional selling process or the expenses of continuing to own unoccupied real estate.
Vacant homes are problematic for Phoenix homeowners and communities. If you need advice about selling a vacant property in Phoenix, we are your no-cost solution! Give us a call today: PropertyCartwheel.com works with homeowners like you to make offers on homes in any condition in 24 hours! And we can close the deal in less than a week!
